Ben-Barak and Frost
She's a microbe.
Can't see her?
Look a little closer.
She's small.
Very small.
Do Not Lick This Book is a picture book for children about Min and her friends and the tiny, tiny, really tiny world that they live in.
Do Not Lick This Book was published in June 2017 by Allen and Unwin. It was a collaborative effort between three people.
Idan Ben-Barak is the author. Ben-Barak lives in Melbourne and has a background in science. He has a BSc in medical science, an MSc in microbiology, and a PhD in the history and philosophy of science. Do Not Lick This Book is not his first published book. His first book, Small Wonders: How Microbes Rule Our World, was released in 2008 and translated into five languages and was awarded the 2010 American Association for the Advancement of Science/Subaru SB&F (Science Books and Films) Prize for Excellence in Science Books in the Young Adult category.
The illustrations in Do Not Lick This Book were done by Julian Frost. Frost lives in Melbourne and achieved internet fame in 2012 when his animated video, Dumb Ways to Die, attracted close to 150 million views on YouTube. Frost is an expert in illustration, direction, character design and animation.
The third contributor to Do Not Lick This book is photographer Linda Rundgren. Rundgren used a machine to take pictures of things at the microscopic level to show readers just how tiny Min's world really is.
Do Not Lick This Book grabbed my attention with its bright yellow front cover and curious title. I like to collect odd books. After a quick read-through, I was intrigued enough to take home and show it to my little girl.
Do Not Lick This Book stars Min (an E.coli), Rae (a streptococcus), Dennis (a fungus) and Jake (a Corynebacterium). Min and her friends have faces, arms and legs and look a bit like characters out of Pac Man.
Ben-Barak does a good job explaining what a microbe is to a young audience. On the first page, we are introduced to Min. She's small. She's so small in fact that you could fit 3,422,167 of them onto a single dot.
What makes the book really interesting is that it contains extreme close up photographs of things like paper, skin, a tooth, and fabric.
The book also encourages kids to "take Min on an adventure" by touching a dot on the page and then touching their teeth or their shirt or their belly button to transport Min to a new place to explore.
Do Not Lick This Book was a fun interactive little book about science.
It is perfect for 4 – 6 year olds.
If you really must lick this book, there is a sticker on the back that has a tiny label above it that reads "
If you really must lick this book, please do so here."
I licked it.
